Need ideas for combining plants & privacy

18 years ago

I realize that this is tangential to the growing under lights forum, but this is probably the best forum for the issue.

I have about eight feet of floor to ceiling south-facing window that I use to grow tomato and pepper plants during the winter, along with my huge jade tree that spends the summer outdoors. I use a fluorescent floor lamp for supplemental lighting and have considered suspending shop lights from the ceiling.

My question is how I can use the south windows for growing plants and still maintain privacy, especially at night when the interior lights are on. I have one neighbor that has threatened my family and I feel like we are a target at night if I turn the lights on without a solid screen. But I am unwilling to give up the gardening habit (I want some semblence of life!) so I don't want any wall hangings against the windows to interfere with my plants.

Floor space is also tight.

Any suggestions? Thank you so much for your consideration.

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Comments (5)

Vicki
18 years ago
Your neighbors are threatening you??? Mercy sakes!

I'm not sure I understand the problem. Do you have curtains? At night there is no light to come in from outside anyway so couldn't you just close the curtains or blinds and let the fluorescent lighting do its thing? Then you could open the curtains when going to bed in the event that you don't rise early enough to let in the first morning sun. Once everyone is in bed anyway, I wouldn't think privacy would be an issue is it?
ralleia
Original Author
18 years ago
I don't have curtains because they will knock leaves off/lay on the plants if the curtains are run near the window.

After I posted I came up with the idea of either doing

(1) a home-made U rod of aluminum conduit--we have the pipe bender from building plant supports

or

(2) two rods, one close to the windows for summer--one a foot or so inside the windows for winter when the plants will be inside.

That was the future curtains can "migrate" based on the season.

Yeah, one of the neighboring families is threatening us, and threatening the daycare across the street, and threatening the police, and the county prosecutor. Apparently this family has been threatening their neighbors for 30 years. We intend to see that they're put in jail or motivated to move far away. Two court appearances in the next month--yippee!!!

Thanks for the response--now we can let this thread die.

Cheers.
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mmcdannell
18 years ago
Hello,
There is a greenhouse cloth I saw before somewhere (probably in one o many of our greenhouse supply catalogs we get), it is black on the outside but lets light through. How about something like this?
Ask at your nearest greenhouse supply store, I am sure they can tell you what it is called......
Might be a idea for you?
frugaljenny
18 years ago
Have you thought of tinting the windows? This would help mellow out the amount of light exiting your windows.

I'm sorry you have such neighbors. You should throw a bag of thistle seed on their lawn. he he

Jenny
User
18 years ago
Home Depot sells this privacy film that you can't see through, but the light still comes through for your plants.
I bought it.
It works!
I paid about 20.00 for 4 windows worth.
Good Luck!